Rolling mill guide



y 1943. c. w. HAWTHORNE 2,325,397

ROLLING MILL GUIDE Filed Oct. 11 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [NVE NTOR CHARLES IMHA WTHORNE ATTORNEY Patented July 27, 1943 ROLLING MILL GUIDE F Charles W. Hawthorne, Worcester, Mass., assignv or to Morgan Construction Company, Worcestcr, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 11, 1941, Serial No. 414,556

5 Claims. (Cl. 8051) This invention relates to rolling mill guides, and more particularly to the construction of guides for use in continuous hot mills for rolling rod, merchant bar, and similar elongated metal products.

It is the practice in such mills to employ an entry guide and a delivery guide at the opposite sides of each roll stand in order to ensure the proper positioning of the hot bar as it approaches and travels through the formed pass of the rolls. The delivery guide is often shaped to impart a twist to the bar so that it will approach the following roll stand in the correct position. These guides provide metal surfaces which fit closely against the bar. As a result of the high temperature of the bar and the rubbing action of the bar as it travels at high speed through the guides, small particles of material are rubbed from the bar and adhere to the guide surfaces. These particles may be of metal, and in some cases they may be of scale (metallic oxide). They cling to the guide surfaces very firmly and gradually build up deposits of appreciable thickness which obstruct the passage of the bars and may eventually cause a cobble. In the case of the delivery guides these deposits often produce grooves or scratches in the bars. It then becomes necessary to shut down the entire mill until the guides can be changed. To restore the guides to proper condition it is necessary to em ploy a very expensive grinding machine, since the guide surfaces must be accurately finished. The grinding process involves removal of some of the original metal of the guide, and each guide can be subjected to only a limited number of 5 grindings before it will have to be discarded. It is a common practice to spray large quantities of water on the bars immediately anterior to the entry guide, but this procedure fails to solve the problem.

It is accordingly one object of the invention to provide a comparatively simple and inexpensive rolling mill guide so constructed as to avoid the formation of deposits thereon from the hot bars.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rolling mill guide which will have an exceptionally long life of useful service.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rolling mill guide which can be restored to its original condition easily and at slight expense after it has become worn.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set 55 forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an entry guide and a delivery guide applied to a roll stand;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the entry guide. as indicated by the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig, 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 'l'l of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a wedge plate forming a part of the delivery guide;

Fig. ,9 is a perspective view of the assembled guide blocks and plates of the delivery guide;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the lower guide plate;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the lower guide block;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the guide box of the delivery guide; and

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a part of the delivery guide.

The embodiment illustrated comprises a pair of horizontal rolls I 5 forming one stand in a continuous mill for the rolling of rods, merchant bars and the like. This particular roll stand is arranged to receive an on-coming bar of oval cross-section, with the major axis of the oval positioned vertically. The rolls are suitably grooved in known manner to provide a formed pass which will reduce the size of the bar and produce a delivered bar having a square crosssection, with the irespective diagonals of the square positioned in vertical and horizontal planes. The oval bar approaching the rolls travels through an entry guide I1, and the square bar leaving the rolls travels through a delivery guide I 8. The delivery guide is arranged to twist the bar so that the front end of the bar will have turned forty-five degrees about its axisas it reaches the entry guide for the following roll stand (not shown).

The entry guide I! comprises a hollow guide box 2 6 ofsubstantially square cross-section open at both ends and supported in front of the rolls l5 by any suitable means. Two guide blocks 2| are mounted within the box 20 and extend therethrough, these blocks having laterally projecting flanges 22 which engage the front end of the box to prevent rearward movement of the blocks. The rear ends of the blocks are V-shaped and enter closely bea wedge forming tween the rolls l5. These blocks 2| are located on opposite sides of the pass line of the mill and they make contact with one another in a vertical plane which extends through the said pass line. The front portions of the blocks are shaped to provide a rearwardly converging bell-mouthed pasageway 24 arranged to receive the front end of the approaching bar. The rear portions of the blocks are provided on their adjacent faces with longitudinally extending grooves or channels 25 which are bridged by guide plates 26 of sheet metal shaped to fit closely against the sides of the bar as it passes through. These plates are notched at their upper and lower edges, as shown particularly in Fig. 4, to fit pins 28 mounted in the blocks 2|, so that the plates will be properly located and yet may be readily removed when necessary. Grooves 29 extend downwardly from the front ends of the grooves 25 to provide a passageway which registers at assembly with a chamber or opening 30 (Fig. 3) in the bottom wall of the box 20. Water is supplied to this opening 30 from any suitable source through a pipe 3|. This water flows rearwardly along the grooves 25 in cooling contact with the outersurfaces of the plates 26 and is discharged directly into the roll pass on opposite sides of the bar.

The delivery guide 18 comprises an open-top guide box having opposed upright side walls 36 and 31. This box is supported behind the rolls l5 by any suitable means. An upper guide block 39 and a lower guide block 40 are mounted within the box 35 and extendtherethrough, these blocks having laterally projecting lugs 42 (Fig. 9) which enter notches 43 (Fig. 12) in the inner sides of the walls 36 and 3! to locate the blocks in the proper positions. The front ends of the blocks are cut away to allow them to enter closely between the rolls. The rear surfaces of the lugs 42 are inclined downwardly and forwardly so that the blocks may be lifted upwardly from the box 35 without interference with the rolls. The blocks 39 and 40 are and below the pass line of the mill and their adj acent faces are provided with longitudinally extending grooves or channels 45 which are bridged by guide plates 46 of sheet metal shaped to fit closely against the sides of the bar as it passes through. Since the bar at this particular stage of rolling is approximately square in cross-section, the plates 46 are shaped to provide a guideway or conduit of similar form. Furthermore these plates are slightly warped or twisted so that the bar will be twisted about its axis as it passes through and will approach the succeeding entry guide in the correct position. Each plate 46 is provided with notches 41 in its edges, as shown in Fig. 10, to fit pins 48 (Fig. 11) mounted in the guide blocks. In order to hold the guide blocks in place in the box 35, each side wall 36 and 31 is provided with a groove 50 in its inner surface.

located respectively above These grooves serve to receive the opposite edges of a rectangular plate 5!, as shown in Fig. 6, and a wedge 52 is driven in between this plate and the upper guide block 39. The lower edg of this wedge engages a shallow longitudinal groove 54 in the top of the block 39. The wedge is connected to the side wall 31 by means of a chain 55 to prevent accidental dropping or loss of the wedge.

Water is introduced into the rear portions of the channels 45 and flows forwardly in cooling contact with the outer surfaces of the plates 46. For this purpose the rear part of the box 35 is made with hollow walls, as shown in Fig. 7, to

provide a chamber 51 to which water is delivered by a pipe 58. This chamber is provided with two discharge ports 55 and 60 which at assembly register with ports 62 and 63 in the blocks 39 and 40 respectively. These ports 62 and 63 communicate with the channels 45. It will be noted that the plate 5! is tilted laterally at a slight angle, so that the wedge 52 will urge the upper guide block 39 laterally against the wall 36 and maintain a leak-proof connection between the ports 59 and 62. In order to compel the water to travel forwardly in a desired manner, a rib 65 (Fig. '11) is provided across the rear end of each channel 45, these ribs being shaped to fit closely against the plates 46. at assembly. A similar rib 66 may be provided across the front end of each channel 45, but each of these front ribs is interrupted by 'a slot 61 through which the water will be discharged forwardly into the roll pass.

It will now be apparent that in the operation of the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated, a hot metal bar of oval cross-section will travel through the guide I! and into the formed pass of the rolls l5. These rolls will reduce the size of the bar and change it into a bar of approximately square cross-section which will travel through the guide l8. The guide plates 26 of the entry guide will maintain the oval bar in the correct position with its major axis vertical, while the guide plates 46 of the delivery guide will twist the square bar about its axis to ensure its correct entry into the succeeding guide. Since these plates 26 and 46 are comparatively thin, and since they are cooled by the circulation of water along their outer surfaces. their inner surface will be maintained at a sufficiently low temperature to prevent the sticking of particles thereto. Consequently, scratching of the bar will be avoided and the danger of cobbles will be greatly reduced.

The guide plates 26 and 46 may be easily manufactured from rolled sheet metal by a pressing operation involving the use of dies in a known manner, and their cost will be comparatively low. When the plates become worn. after a long period of service, it is a simple and inexpensive matter to replace them with new plates. The necessity for a large and costly guide-grinding machine is eliminated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A rolling mill guide for use in rod mills, merchant mills, and the like, comprising two opposed blocks mounted on opposite sides of the mill pass line and having longitudinally extending channels in their adjacent faces, separate metal plates bridging the respective channels and shaped to fit closely against the sides of the stock traveling through the guide, and means to circulate water through the channels in contact with the outer surfaces of the plates.

2. A rolling mill guide for use in rod mills, merchant mills, and the like, comprising a guide box, two opposed blocks mounted in the guide box on opposite sides of the mill pass line and having longitudinally extending channels in their adjacent faces, separate metal plates bridging the respective channels and shaped to flt closely against the sides of the stock traveling through the guide, and means to circulate water through the channels in contact with the outer surfaces of the plates.

3. A rolling mill guide for use in rod mills, merchant mills, and the like, comprising two opposed blocks mounted on opposite sides of the mill pass line and having longitudinally extending channels in their adjacent faces, separate plates of comparatively thin sheet metal bridging the respective channels and shaped to fit closely against the sides of the stock traveling through the guide, and means to circulate water through the channels in contact with the outer surfaces of the plates.

4. A rolling mill guide for use in rod mills, merchant mills, and the like, comprising a guide box having a chamber, means to supply water to the chamber, two opposed blocks mounted in the guide box on opposite sides of the mill pass line and having longitudinally extending charmels in their adjacent faces, the channels communicating with the said chamber to receive water therefrom, and separate metal plates bridging the respective channels and shaped to fit closely against the sides of the stock traveling through the guide, the outer surfaces of the plates being in contact with the water in the channels.

5. In combination with a pair of cooperating grooved rolls providing a formed pass, a guide box mounted adjacent the rolls, two opposed blocks mounted in the guide box on opposite sides of the mill pass line and having longitudinally extending channels in their adjacent faces, separate metal plates bridging the respective channels and shaped to fit closely against the sides of the stock traveling through the guide, and means to circulate water through the channels in a direction toward the rolls, the water flowing in contact with the outer surfaces of the plates and escaping directly into the roll pass.

CHARLES W. HAWTHORNE. 

